Nikon D7500 Announcement

Last night Nikon unveiled the new D7500 DSLR camera. The much anticipated update to the D7200 that was announced back in March of 2015 comes with a few updates that puts it close to the Nikon D500 in terms of features and speed – the same 20.9 MP APS-C sensor and EXPEED 5 processor, fast 8 fps continuous shooting (vs 6 fps on the D7200), a larger buffer that can accommodate up to 50 RAW images, the same 180K RGB metering sensor as on the D500 (although the AF system is still the good old 51-point Multi-CAM 3500DX II), a tilting touchscreen, a deeper and improved grip, Bluetooth + WiFi (SnapBridge), improved weather sealing and 4K video recording. In addition, the D7500 also gains some of the firmware functionality of the D500, such as “Auto AF Fine Tune” that allows to automatically calibrate focus on lenses. Overall, it looks like a very welcome update. Except for two disappointing blunders – Nikon dropped the second card slot and took away the ability to use a battery grip on the D7500.

The Nikon D3x00, D5x00 and D7x00 series cameras is where Nikon makes the money, so it makes sense for the company to make its DX cameras as appealing as possible. Unfortunately, that has not been the case in the past few years, with Nikon releasing meaningless updates to the D3x00 and D5x00 lines for the sake of a refreshing its model numbers and staying up to date with the competition. So it is nice to see that Nikon wants to continue appealing to the enthusiast-level crowd with some desirable features found on the D7500 – the faster 8 fps continuous shooting speed and the larger buffer is everything we wanted to see on the D7500 and it certainly feels great that Nikon added even more features to make the camera highly desirable.

However, Nikon also stripped away a key feature that made the D7x00 series stand above the competition – dual memory card slots. Unlike the D7000, D7100 and D7200, the D7500 only comes with a single, UHS-I memory card slot. It makes sense why Nikon originally pushed for dual card slots, as it wanted people to move from the D300 to the newer D7x00-series cameras (with the D500 severely delayed for many years). However, now that the D500 is out, the message is clear – Nikon is letting us know that the D7x00-series DSLRs should have never had a dual card slot in the first place, and that the camera should be competing directly with other similar cameras on the market that also have a single card slot. To me, this is disappointing to see on something that made the D7x00-series so special – they were great backup bodies for some professionals photographers. I can understand that Nikon did not want the D7500 to compete with the D500, but a dual card slot would not have made much difference! The D500 still has a pro-level body, faster shooting speed, a more advanced AF system and a huge memory buffer, so it would still have been attractive to many photographers wanting a more rugged and serious camera. And it is certainly not a cost factor either – there is very little cost difference between using a single vs a dual SD memory card reader on a camera. Also, with SD memory cards now pushing performance to the limits with UHS-II, keeping an old, UHS-I only slot is another mistake on Nikon’s part.

It is clear that Nikon wants to downgrade the status of the D7500 compared to the D500. In addition to downgrading the memory card slot, the company also did not release a battery grip with the camera either. So if you want a larger grip, the ability to comfortably shoot in both orientations and the ability to host multiple batteries, that option has also been silently removed. Lastly, Nikon added a new “Pet Portrait” scene mode. No comments :)

The ability to shoot 4K video is certainly nice, but I was very surprised to see that it is a 1.5x crop from the center area of the sensor. Combined with the 1.5x crop of the APS-C sensor, you are looking at a crazy combined crop of 2.25x. That’s worse than a Micro Four Thirds crop! While some people might be excited about being able to get closer to wildlife with a 2.25x crop, the footage in low light situations will look pretty bad, since you will be looking at pretty much individual pixels from the sensor, rather than down-sampled footage. This means that the D7500 will not be a good all-around video camera for normal shooting – something like the 24-70mm is going to be a 54-158mm equivalent.

Overall, aside from the UHS-I single memory card slot, lack of a grip option and unimpressive 4K video crop, the D7500 seems like a well-rounded camera with quite a few serious upgrades. The ability to shoot at 8 fps and have a 50 image RAW buffer will allow sports and wildlife photographers to shoot continuously for over 6 seconds, which is impressive for an enthusiast-level DSLR. Also, the new RGB metering sensor on the D7500 should make autofocus even faster and more accurate compared to its predecessor and the ability to automatically focus tune lenses is definitely a worthy addition.

I will be honest with you though – I would much rather see DX lens releases. Nikon is putting yet another nail in its coffin by announcing more DX cameras than lenses…

Below is the full press release from the company.

Official Announcement

Exceptional Speed, Precision and Low-Light Ability Has Never Been as Attainable; The New D7500 Uses the Same Powerful Imaging Sensor and Includes Many Features from Nikon’s DX-Format D500 Flagship

MELVILLE, NY (April 12, 2017 at 12:01 A.M. EDT) – Enthusiasts are a distinct type of photographer, who go to great lengths in the relentless pursuit of the perfect capture. It is for this user that Nikon Inc. announced the D7500 today, an advanced-level DX-format DSLR that provides a robust yet lightweight camera with powerful performance and premium features. Using the same 20.9-megapixel image sensor, processor and wide ISO range as the D500, Nikon’s flagship DX-format DSLR, the D7500 incorporates an exceptional combination of stunning image quality, impressive speed, astounding low-light ability and 4K UHD video capture, yet remains within reach for a diverse array of image makers and creators.

“The Nikon D7500 was engineered to be as versatile as the photographer using it, and excels whether shooting fast-action sports, stunning low-light landscapes, distant wildlife, glamorous portraits or multimedia content,” said Kosuke Kawaura, Director of Marketing and Planning, Nikon Inc. “This is a camera for the photographers who are serious about their passion, infatuated with the next frame and above all else, want speed, small size and an excellent value.”

Balance Image Quality and Low-Light Performance The new D7500 features Nikon’s latest 20.9-megapixel DX-format imaging sensor and EXPEED 5 processing engine, the same high-performance heart of the Nikon D500. Designed to excel in a wide array of shooting conditions, the D7500 eliminates the optical low-pass filter (OLPF) for maximum sharpness and clarity, with the class-leading dynamic range flexibility that is a hallmark of Nikon DSLRs. The compact DX-format form factor also gives photographers extended focal length reach that is an advantage for sports and wildlife photography, especially when coupled with the vast selection of available NIKKOR lenses.

Whether shooting a landscape at dawn or sports under indoor lights, the D7500 affords the latitude of low-light capability to consistently nail the shot, time and time again. Even in the most challenging light, users can capture images with minimal noise, thanks to a native ISO range that spans from 100-51,200, and an expanded ISO range up to an astonishing 1.64 million equivalent. Those same stellar image quality and low noise virtues also apply to those shooting video, whether it’s a 4K UHD production or a mesmerizing astro time-lapse of the night sky.

Focus with Precision, Capture with Confidence The Nikon D7500 DSLR gives photographers many new premium features and advanced Nikon technologies to help create incredible images and video:

The D7500 is fast enough to keep pace with the quickest athletes or animals; capable of shooting at up to 8 frames-per-second (fps) with full AF/AE, with an expanded buffer of up to 50 RAW/NEF (14-bit lossless compressed) or 100 JPEG images.

Nikon’s proven 51-point AF system covers a large portion of the frame. A Group-Area AF function has been added, which is a preferred focus mode for those shooting fast action.

The slim, tilting 3.2” 922K-dot touchscreen LCD can be used to easily control, compose and play back, even while mounted to a tripod. The menus can also be easily navigated using the touchscreen function.

Like the Nikon D5 and D500, the 180K RGB Metering system is used with the Advanced Scene Recognition System to help ensure balanced exposures and fantastic color rendition in nearly any shooting situation.

Lightweight DX form factor allows for an agile, comfortable body with deep grip and comprehensive weather sealing. The monocoque body is durable and approximately 5% lighter than the D7200 and 16% lighter than the D500.

Shoot all day and well into the night with up to approximately 950 shots per charge (CIPA standard).

Like the D500 and D5, the Auto AF Fine Tune feature when in Live View allows users to automatically calibrate autofocus with specific lenses if needed.

Through the Retouch menu, users can access an in-camera Batch Process RAW Converter that can handle multiple images to optimize workflow.

The camera’s pop-up flash can act as a Commander for remote Speedlights, while the camera is also optimized to function with line-of-sight using SB-500, SB-700 and SB-5000. It can even support the radio frequency control system of the SB-5000 when using the optional WR-R10 accessory.

New Auto Picture Control function analyzes the picture scene and automatically generates a tone curve within the camera.

Images can automatically be downloaded to a compatible smartphone, and the camera can also be triggered remotely using Built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

Multimedia Capabilities for Creators The Nikon D7500 adds in a diverse array of advanced features for multimedia content creators, including 4K UHD (3840 × 2160/30p) video capture and the ability to produce awe-inspiring 4K UHD time-lapse movies in-camera. Video files can be stored as either MOV files or as MP4 files, for greater flexibility and easier playback on a wide range of devices. Like the D500, the D7500 offers 3-axis built-in e-VR image stabilization when shooting 1080p Full HD video, and can be easily focused using the rear touchscreen function.

For the advanced videographer, the D7500 offers simultaneous 4K UHD output to card and uncompressed via HDMI, as well as a headphone and microphone jack for pro-level audio recording and monitoring. To allow for smooth exposure adjustments, the camera also supports power aperture for smooth and step-less depth-of-field transitions while users can also keep highlights in-check using visible zebra stripes in live-view mode.

Price and Availability The Nikon D7500 will be available in Summer 2017 for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $1,249.95 for the body only configuration, or with a AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens for $1,749.95 SRP. For more information on the Nikon D7500 as well as the latest Nikon products, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

Nikon D7500 Promotional Videos

Below are the Nikon D7500 Promotional Videos released so far:

Pre-Order Options

You can pre-order the Nikon D7500 from Amazon at the moment. B&H and Adorama are currently closed for Passover, so those links are not live yet.

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About Nasim Mansurov

Nasim Mansurov is a professional photographer based out of Denver, Colorado. He is the author and founder of Photography Life, along with a number of other online resources. Read more about Nasim here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

1) Chuck Comstock

April 12, 2017 at 4:25 pm

Pfffft. Give me a V4 (or, V5)! How many “enthusiast” DX bodies does the world need?

Duane, the D7500 manual has not been published yet, so I cannot confirm if that’s actually true. I don’t think it is a big deal though, since most photographers would be using modern telephoto lenses with the D7500.

Hi Nasim I own a Nikon D7100 and find it an incredible camera. I shoot portraits and landscape mainly and find this camera catering more towards sports and fast action which donot interest me. Also in reviews I have heard that it’s ontouch focussing is slow.

Do you think it is still a worthy upgrade keeping my interest in view?

Himanshu, if you are not into wildlife and sports, I would not upgrade. The new metering system and the amazing 51-point AF system are very nice and would be useful for potraiture, but you have to ask yourself if the upgrade cost is worth it.

…ignore the other comments, if your intent is to ‘upgrade’ to a more refined professional level camera body then the D500 is the only choice for upgrading in the DX format. If on the other hand, you shoot people, portraits and ‘lifestyle’ then clearly the D750 is your upgrade path – Though you sound perfectly happy with the D7100 that you have now, I’d say work that sucker ’til it dies and only think about an upgrade then…

I agree with you, Nasim! DX lenses, especially good ones – for D500 are very much needed! The rumors are for a new 10-20mm, but a cheapo one, so I’m not very excited… And about D7500 I think it is a new line – somehow between the D7xxx and D5xxx series. The Lack of a second card slot and Ai lens indexing tab are a proof I think. Plus lowering the Mpx, and worse battery life… I put some of my thoughts here:everything.photography/camer…-be-d6000/ It would be nice if they reduce the 3 5 and 7 series to let’s say 6 and 4 (below D500). This would free some space for a mirorrless DX camera.

I would not rule out the possibility of a battery grip that engages into the camera body battery chamber to follow, but it is a mis-step to not make this clear on release. I have not yet seen any images that show how much (if any) metal there is in the body construction? The change in strap anchorage may indicate the absence of a substantial anchorage frame? I already have a D7200 that I bought as a stop-gap from the D300 and have been using with long tele lenses (300 f/2,8, 500 f/4E) for the past two years. For that use the grip was an absolute necessity to balance the rig on a gimbal head. Now that I have a D500 (and grip) I am totally happy with the pair – I will use the D7200 for macro, landscape and general purpose work and use the D500 for faster moving action. At base ISO I prefer the D7200, from ISO 800 and upward I prefer the D500 (I see a significant improvement with the D500 at ISO 1600). My typical base working ISO for wildlife is 400, at which I consider them equal. I have been invested in Nikon gear for more than 30 years (and a major financial investment at that). Two years ago I would have embraced this camera body with great enthusiasm, but today it has absolutely no interest to me. If I were buying into the sytem or upgrading from a D3*** or D5*** it would still be a tempting prospect but I hope Nikon have properly identified the market for this camera, because at the moment the pros and cons for an upgrade from the D7100/D7200 owners seems to come down to +2 fps, minus the loss of several significant features. This is not a bad camera, it is a good camera – it just feels like a cynical (production) cost-cutting exercise to closely shadow but just slightly better the Canon **D series which the D7200 had previously comfortably crushed.

D500, and D7xxx, D5xxx and D3xxx series are pretty recent for Nikon, so they can’t release more camera for a while. XD

So I hope too more high-end lenses (bzzz bzzz) like a fast 14 and/or 16mm DX lens (= light, not for FX users), a new UWA f/2.8 (or faster, but I guess f/2.8 is the most reasonable even for DX). This is I think the most important for viability of DX format (and maybe a new 16-50 f/2.8 pro-grade lens, with VR maybe, and like Fuji a 50-140 but I don’t thinkg this one will exist) : please Nikon, your have amazing bodies, so give us new lenses !

I’m equally confused by Nikon’s product strategy at the moment, though it’s likely this camera was already in development before the whole DL fiasco. It seems that the D7500 is targeted at entry level enthusiasts that are unwilling to pay $2000 for a D500. My question would be how many potential buyers this is applicable to? My feeling is that Nikon has too many DSLRs in the $1000 to $2000 range, and they need to simplify their offerings.

No grip… No go for me, I shoot kids figure skating, hockey and lacrosse tournaments…waited FOREVER, for a replacement for the d300, (build, feel, etc), the d7000 series was/is a cheap throw away option as they take a vertical grip which is very beneficial when shooting in portrait mode for hours on end. When the d500 came out…. WOW…better than the specs on my wish list,… heavier, yep, but performs as promised. I still have a d7100 as a backup, and just for kicks while I was shooting a figure skating competition last weekend I decided I’d try the d7100 for a couple of skaters, lighter… yes, now sounds and feels clunky. Here in Canada the d500 with a grip comes in around $3200 taxes in… the d7100 will stay as a backup for now as I only shoot part time, but my 2nd d7100 has 225000 shots on it, shooting sports part time in the last year and a half… I was waiting for it to crap out… then the d500 came along and saved it… sometimes Nikon does things that just make me go WTF!!…

To cut the second SD Card Slot is really hard to understand. I love that second slot option sice I’ve purchased the great D7000 some years ago. As you said they should make at least the lonely slot UHS-II compatible.

What about the grip? I don’t understand that either. The only way to balance the pitch down tendency when you are using a heavy Nikon DX 18-300mm or something like that is using a grip that helps moving the center of gravity.

One thing that is often forgotten, is that some of us have 25 years working with Photoshop, and want to own the software. So we all have CS6, which is still great, but not being updated by our “friends” at Adobe. So, the ability to easily find a workflow for starting with NEF on the newest cameras and getting to Photoshop may be an issue.

Also, what is Nikon thinking, getting rid of that second memory card slot? Unbelievable. I shoot a lot of forest birds and such, so will stick with the D7200 for that for a while yet. I use the D750 full frame for landscapes.

This is not unusual for a 100-year old company…over time, they tend to forget about what the customer wants and delivers what the company wants. And then the company spends lots of money on marketing to convince customers that they want what the company provided.

This iteration of the 7×00 series is disappointing. I recognize that they don’t want to cannibalizes the D500 sales, but no second card and inability to add a battery grip is a fearful sign that Nikon is not understanding the customer base. I won’t buy one. What’s your take on the carbon fiber frame? I get the sense that it’s a cost saving move away from the stronger magnesium material.

I predict that within 3 years, Nikon will be out of the enthusiast DSLR business. They are clueless as to why the customer base who bought DX7xxx cameras want. Their market share will dwindle even more. Whoever decided on the DX7500 features is a moron and should be fired immediately. ‘Nough said.

VERY disappointed if Nikon indeed removed the AI tab. One reason I chose the Nikon system is the backward compatibility of all the beautiful Ai/Ai-S Lenses they made (ans still do e.g. 50mm 1.2)… Hope this isn’t a trend

Hi Nassim, Thanks for the article. Rich and educational as usual. I was wondering whether you or any one have any idea about the next D8– release. I think it’s about time!! With the Canon 5D IV out, the competition is now very fierce and Nikon should have acted earlier in my opinion. Ditto for the D500, but as a macro and landscape photographer, currently with a D610, I am still waiting for the upgraded D8– to justify a new camera. I thought many times about getting the D810 but decided against it as I don’t want to buy it only to find a new one is released next day with major upgrades. Cheers from Australia Marwan

Nikon have once again shot themselves in the foot with a shortsighted marketing decision. I would totally buy this camera but removing the second card slot and battery grip is a dealbreaker. Epic fail.

The single card slot would be a deal breaker for me today. That is why I did not buy a Nikon DX. My D7000 taught me the value of the dual card slot, and dual cards was a criteria when I bought my D750. And any future camera body henceforth. So with the downgrade to single card slots, Nikon has reduced the valve and the teaching value of the D7500.

I am disappointed in this camera. I hesitated to get the D500 because of the XQD/SD card with no choice. Having to have two different cards each requiring its own reader is a stupid combo to force on us. Now this D7500 comes with only one SD card, still no choice. At the price point the D500 remains the best buy for my money but far from ideal. I will wait to see if Nikon upgrades the D750 and/or the D810. If they don’t get it together pretty soon a move to Fuji may be in my future.

(i) Eye sensor on the viewfinder / back-screen. This is a first for Nikon DSLRs as far as I’m aware. Clearly a very old technology generally, but it could be useful if it only shows the preview once you move your head away from the VF.

(ii) Auto Picture Control. For direct to press JPEG users, it will be interesting to see if this utilises specific PCs, or whether any contrast/saturation setting can be chosen by it.

(iii) Full plastic body. No magnesium at all, but the pictures show the nicer rubber covering. Will be critical to see if they have used a new (i.e. thicker) plastic that feels solid and is robust, or the standard plastics that you don’t really want to use in the rain and tend to look shoddy after a few years.

Overall, the size, light weight and lack of grip worry me for when using large lenses, which are fairly necessary for sports/wildlife. Time for a 375g 180mm f2.8 PF?

Just to feedback on the ergonomics, after a brief trial at my local store. The initial feel and look is modern, light but still fairly solid. I don’t think you lose anything not being magnesium compared to the D7xxx before, and the carbon-plastic composite and rubber covers seem more robust than the D5xxx series. The lightness is noticeable, but doesn’t seem too light with medium size lenses attached (I tried the new 24-70/2.8). The screen tilting works well, as does the touch, but the large black border is a bit disappointing aesthetically. The AF appears very similar to D7200, which is fine. Not as good as a D500 of course, which in particular creates a problem if you want to select sensors near the edges, since they are not cross-type on the older 51 sensor module. But this is the problem with all Nikon AF apart from D500/5.

Just one thing came up that did concern me, ergonomically. Although the deeper grip is welcomed, because the body is not as wide as the D500, your hold is a little cramped. And this means bending your fingers to the two function buttons on the front is noticeably more difficult to virtually every body Nikon have made in the last 30 years that I have used. Having medium-large male hands, this could be a major issue for others with larger hands, who want to use the front buttons regularly.

The shutter noise was fairly quiet. Similar to a D750 acoustic I would say. The viewfinder is similar to D7200, if not a touch larger and brighter.

Overall, since we can expect the image quality will be as good as the D500, and expect the price to come down to £1000 in time, I see this as a good rival to the 80D from Canon. The Nikon being better in stills image quality and the benefit of 4k video / 8mp photo at 30fps; the Canon being better in movie focusing especially with STM lenses. I certainly can’t see the D7200 being favoured at new price, since the D7500 feels much more modern and light, whilst not feeling downgraded in any way.

I think D7500 is worth the update for entusiast and almost skilled photographers like me, owning a D300 and never having used not hi-end cameras, like D3/D4/D5 (dreams .. ;) It features many important improvements to my D300, like great 20 Mpxl sensor shared withD500, improved high ISO dynamic range and noise performances, improbed (and excellent) 51pt AF (it’s more than enough for me! It tracks my fast 22 months old baby, the limit there is the lens I use) and … an almost good erconomics.

YES, it lacks two important features, four to be perfect & light too (as per the target of its users):

–[#1] where’s the AF-ON ?? .. still missing in a camera just unter the Dx flagship. I’m I alone thinking it’s important in portaits, street photography and sport? (ok, not professional sport shootings, but your baby might be a basket player and you won’t miss his good actions)

–[#2] please, please, please … through away those useless auto shooting progs; I had difficulties at choosing between “portait” and “close up” in my F60, the first days I had my first camera in hands, deciding moving fast from those washing machine like progs to A or M mode :) Place something more interesting there, like U3 and U4 … its cheap memory to save a little bit of extra info, the settings But ok, none of Nikon’s have U3/U4 …. Hi-end have those crazy useless banks instead (:D) .. I’m thinking to your excellent 820 wishlist article ;) [https://photographylife.com/nikon-d820-wishlist]

–[#3] Come on, Nikon .. dual SD cards Slot is a must .. since a dual slot controller is very cheap too, AND /OR battery grip.

–[#4] Why no AF mode selector, like in D300, allowing to quickly switching among single AF point, dynamic AF, Full 51 pt AF and the new advanced modes of D7500? p.s. Put away the QUAL button, you can use the menu

After some thought I think this is a very appealing camera for the target group. If I upgrade my camera this year then D7500 seems to fit the bill. For me the strong points of this camera are much more important than several drawbacks: – The unbelievable sensor – same as in D500 with this price tag (CAD 1700) – just this fact would be enough for me. When you see pictures from this sensor you simply forget about anything else :-) – 180k-pixel RGB metering sensor – same as in D500 (for $1000 less than D500) – for improved metering. – It has tilt screen – I was hesitant to buy D7200 just because of the lack of tilt LCD screen.

I don’t care about some features that other people seems to regard very much. – I don’t care about camera’s 4K video capability (although D7500 hose that mode) – I don’t care about dual card slot. As I mentioned in another post I never had a single card failure since I started using digital in 2003 (of course I always use brand-name cards like Sandisk and Lexar).

Overall, for an enthusiast hobby photographer like me this is a very interesting camera. Compare it to other cameras at this price and I don’t see anything which is this good. Of course, if I had D7200 I wouldn’t think about upgrading to D7500, but D7200 shooters are not Nikon’s target group anyway. Nasim said that he usually waits at least every second camera edition to upgrade. Most people wait longer.

I don’t understand the thinking behind some of Nikon’s decisions: On the one hand they obstinately refuse to add user presets (U!, U2 etc) to their high end camera bodies, despite the obvious fact that technically it would be no problem for them to do so. And despite repeated requests from many sources. On the other hand they remove fundamentally important features from what could be a promising camera and make it problematic for professional use (single card slot) etc. Are Nikon really trying to make themselves irrelevant, or are they just handing market share to Fuji and Sony through tricky and mean marketing strategies.

Hi, I am now using D5200. I always shoot portrait or wildlife, specifically flying bird. Now I am planning to upgrade my gear. I’ll buy 150-600 mm lens, and was planning to buy D7200. But now I am confused. Should I wait for D7500? I read that D7500 has 20.9mp, whereas D7200 has 24mp. Though D7500 has newer processor and improved AF-system, will the downgrading of megapixels affect the picture quality? And another question is- can lighter and smaller body of D7500 hold a heavy wildlife lenses without any problem? What’s the bodybuilding material of D7500? Please suggest me.

I produce and sell artwork and I was willing to go for a D7500 since my workhorse D7000 advanced in years.

No grip for my huge hands… – is a NO GO! No grip to balance a long lens… – is a NO GO! No grip to stabilize hand shaking … – is a NO GO! No grip to extend my battery power since focusing with a long lens takes a lot of juice… – is a NO GO! Not a durable magnesium alloy solid body… – is a NO GO! No second card slot… – is a NO GO!

Taken a conservative hierarchic management in a Japanese culture into account, the amount of bowing yes-man seems to extent the innovations needed! Wake up Nikon! Remember the D610 disaster followed by… ! How about modern Quality Management, not for certification but for the sake of applauding customers? How about taking the power away from making cuts management. Do you think someone who spends over a $1250 on a camera body alone can not effort to spend the $20 more on a second card slot or $45 more for the possibility to add a (extra purchased) durable and stable grip? If weight of less than 1/10 of a pound is an issue, your customers had already moved to Fuji or Sony. As a lot are married via plenty glass to Nikon you should not disappoint the trustees. Do not turn off sound and on a bind eye on your very innovative often long term users. Was your move to U1 and U2 dial a bad thing?

I do not care about video. I do not care about a “pet shooting mode”, but it looks like Nikon found a target group for this camera!

Ekke, I wish I was as eliquient as you, but I don’t put up with BS easily… I’ve been shooting Nikon since 1883,… seems like forever, love my Nikons but hate the way they tried to push us towards the “full frame” by delaying the successor to the d300… I fell down the rabbit hole and bit once, buying the d600, then got the d7000 as a backup. The d600 hardly left the bag after that, the d7000 series, though only a throw away was good enough… I don’t have the god syndrome, I just need to take good pictures, waited forever for the d300 replacement… got the d500 with grip, very important like you say, having bigger hands myself. The d7500 sounds like a point and shoot that takes interchangable lenses. Not a good idea for a backup, not enough brawn to back up. Nikons not listening is totally unlike Fuji, and Nikon has made some very bad miss steps lately, … sad really… They could have replaced the d300 a LOOONNNGGGGG time ago and kept a lot of loyal customers but instead decided to play the dictatorial game,… as in you are going to like what we give you… Reminds me of a Kodak rep back in the late 80’s early nineties. Everytime they brought out a new film his line was, buy it it’s as good as the Fuji film you’re using. My reponse was, if it’s only as good, why would I change. Don’t get me wrong, I loved some of the Kodak films, and used them but I wan’t about to change for something that was “the same”. Long winded I am but, …Just sayin’…

I have a Macbook Pro Retina with El Capitan and use Lightroom cc for post processing. Every time I have upgraded to a new camera it has taken several months before Preview in the Laptop, and Lightroom, recognize the raw files from the camera. This was the case when I got a Panasonic ZS60 and then a GX-85. So for a while the only way I could view or process the Raw files from these cameras was by converting them to DNG. I can’t remember whether it was the case when I first bought my D7100. When the D500 first came out it looked to me as though there was limited support for its Raw files too. I am thinking of upgrading my D7100 to a D7500 when it becomes available, but is Nikon likely going to change the nature of the raw (.nef) files again, so I would have to wait for Apple and Adobe to play catch- up?

Some big software and / or hardware companies, before launching a new product, they send it to some of their customers, previously selected, completely free, even with some advantages in the acquisition of the final product supposedly corrected, so that they can find some bugs, before launching the final product.

The problem is that due to some commercial pressure, (or perhaps because the competition is going to get ahead in launching a similar product), the length of beta testing times are sometimes not as long as they should be.

That means very clearly that the first buyers of the product immediately become, but not on a voluntary basis, in something like a “beta tester”, but with a subtle difference: they DO pay for the product. As problems arise, the manufacturer will be forced to make improvements, some free, to satisfy the complaints of their upset customers.

Manufacturers know that there is always people that enjoy being one of the first users of the latest model of something and these manufacturers will take advantage of their experiences to finish the final improvement of the product.

Remember for instance, in the case of Nikon, the problem of “oil spilling” of the D600 or the three or four “Service Advisories”, all free, that the users of the D750 have suffered, such as the famous “flare issue”.

It also happens on many other products like rifles, cars or airline planes. And it is clear that launching a product to the market, without being sufficiently verified, must be profitable for manufacturers, otherwise they would not do it.

If you allow me a personal suggestion: wait at least six months until you buy your brand new Nikon D7500 camera. (I would even recommend 12 months). By then, the hidden defects will have surfaced and software developers will have published (and improved) the new RAW (NEF) filters.

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